Ranma's Master!
by thechilldude
Summary: A freak incident occurs during one of Ranma's training trips that leaves him in a bind. How is Ryoga involved in all this, and why is Ranma calling him master? Stay tuned to find out. RyogaxRanma-chan. Co-Written by DaisukiFox.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I nor DaisukiFox own Ranma 1/2. We are writing and posting this fanfiction up on the net for our pure enjoyment and thus have no intentions of using this story for profit.

Note: I and DaisukiFox both worked hard on this story, and we decided to upload it to here. DaisukiFox and I take equal credit for creating this fanfiction, and we will alternate writing each chapter. This is our prologue chapter, written by me and edited by DaisukiFox. Enjoy! 3

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It was a cool morning day; at least, that was the comparable feeling to the normally obnoxious heat they had been suffering from all week. As they readied themselves in to suitable fighting stances, they stared into their opponent's eyes. Ranma, while he was not particularly fond of the weather, couldn't help but feel relief from the hot sun. However, this divided his attention. If his father, Genma, were to strike this very moment, Ranma would surely be out of luck. He tried to maintain his composure. He couldn't let himself be guided by insecurities. With this in mind, he glared at his father and leaped forth at him with a more level head.

Both Genma and Ranma were excellent combatants. Trained in the art of anything goes, these martial artists had a trick up their sleeve for just about any occasion. Not to mention they were great fighters. Oh and did I say they were sly?

As the two continued to exchange blows, they grew tired. It was around this time that Ranma received a lucky knuckle sandwich from Genma and was promptly flung across the grasslands. Luckily, or unluckily if you were an aqua-transsexual, Ranma landed in a small pond. In place of the tall, black haired boy was now a short, red headed banshee. She picked herself up and cried, "Did ya have to throw me into the water?"

Genma, chuckling at his latest victory, was unaware of Ranma's malicious intent as he closed his eyes. Just before a handful of water landed swiftly onto him, he guffawed and rolled around in the sand and dirt, but upon the contact of water, he too speedily changed, but into a panda instead.

Unable to speak, the frustrated panda held up a sign, 'Why'd you do that?'. However, Ranma, being the mature young woman she was, only responded to the question with her middle finger before stomping off into the distance. 'What's eating her?' came the next question onto the panda's arsenal of signs. But there was no one left there to answer.

It was a little while before she decided to take a break from her walk and cool down. She gracefully plopped down onto the dirt and counted to ten. 'Ich. Ni. San'. Upon the third number being counted, Ranma noticed danger. From within the tall grass came lions. Ranma bolted from her position and fell straight into a sprint.

"C-cats!" Ranma screamed, frightened beyond all belief. This was the price of obtaining her neko-ken, a fact that she still detested her father for to this very day.

It wasn't just the fact that Ranma was scared of being eaten by these lions. She was terrified of all cats in general. The mere sighting of one has her in trembles. Adding onto the fact that these particular cats wanted her for food, and Ranma was one terrified person!

There was no hope that she would get away from them now. They were much too fast for her, and even her training couldn't prepare her for this! She ducked as one attack deftly came. The lion had leaped over her shoulder, barely grazing her. Another lion pounced, but Ranma kicked it away before it could sink its jaws into her skin. She rolled back onto her feet and hopped over another attack.

However much she wanted to get away and forget about these lions, she couldn't stop them and was unable to keep her neko-ken from activating. "Rrorr..." Ranma growled and sprang back at the lions, scratching and tearing her jaw into them. The lions backed off and regrouped.

Ranma hissed at them and showed them her fangs. The lion's response was to dive in for another attack, but before any of them could land a hit on her, someone had thrown a large red that's sheer pressure managed to delay the lions attack, but when it made contact with a few of them, it smacked them away a good distance back.

Someone Hooped over a small hill near by landed in front of her, a young male clad in warrior garb came to the rescue. Ranma stared at the newcomer, unsure whether to consider the man to be a threat or not. In the mean time, He held an umbrella, swinging it wildly and scaring them away with it. Its heaviness was apparent from the sheer wind pressure it caused.

"Stay back!" he demanded. "Ranma's mine!" Ryoga would be damned if a bunch of overgrown cats would take his prey away from him.

The lions weren't foolish enough to mess with someone who could weld such a tool, retreating was their only option.

As the newcomer turned around to greet Ranma, he was greeted with a pounce by her. "Whoa! Hey Ranma. What are you doing here in Paris?" Ryoga, Ranma's savior, asked. As Ranma's face got closer to his, he blushed and asked, "Wh-what are you doing?"

Despite Ryoga's hurried conscious, he was unable to move away from Ranma's strong grip. Her paws, err, hands gripped harder onto his shoulder as she moved closer. She smelled him and then, upon recognizing the familiar smell, she licked his cheek. Ryoga, unable to stop himself from trying to look towards the area she was licking, instantly regretted his stupid error. Ranma's tongue slithered over Ryoga's lips and she crashed her own pair of lips into his, earned an exasperated, yet muffled, cry from Ryoga.

The kiss last no more than a few seconds, but both bodies were flush up against each other as Ryoga pulled Ranma away from him. He was gasping for breath as he buried his hand into his bag and withdrew from it a thermos of water. He subsequently opened the container to thrust the warm water over Ranma's head, causing her to change back into a guy.

"Meow!" the neko-ken version of Ranma cried.

"What the hell was that for?" Ryoga shouted, sitting up.

That splash of warm water had little if no effect on the now wet and annoyed neko-kan Ranma, glaring at Ryoga for a bit before he pounced on him once more, with his spine upwards and a paw, er, once again hand, extended out to threaten him if he tried anything else.

"R-Ranma!" Ryoga stuttered, fearing another kiss or worse, being scratched by Ranma's neko-kan paw.

"Hsss!" he hissed, revealing his fangs.

Gulping, the lost boy didn't move as the neko-kan Ranma watched him. Seeing that he hadn't moved at all, the feline martial artist curled up onto his chest and proceeded to take a catnap.

Ryoga saw that as a good opening for an attempt at escaping this odd position.

"Rawr..." Ranma growled, catching Ryoga's attention and causing him to lower his hand and once again become stiff.

'Just my luck... I end up saving Ranma and he ends up kissing me and threatening to hurt me if I'm not his bed,' Ryoga thought, sighing. 'sometimes I really hate foreign countries, not to mention it makes me wonder how Ranma even got here anyways...'

After a minute or two had passed, Ryoga could feel a stirring on his chest, no doubt Ranma's little episode had ended. As quckly as he could, Ryoga took that opportunity to push Ranma away.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Ryoga demanded, earning a flinch from Ranma. Ranma groaned as he awoke and he glanced upward at the one who was communicating with him.

With a very unusual expression, Ranma said, "M-Master?"

It was then that it felt like the whole world came crashing down onto Ryoga's face, due to all the craziness around him, Ryoga could no longer keep hold of his consciousness and he promptly passed out.


	2. Master!

Dislcaimer: I nor thechilldude have any legal ownership of Ranma ½ . This is just for fun.

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Africa's grassy field had remained unchanged as they swayed against the gentle breeze of the wind. The two martial artists that had dealt with several large cats were currently the only living being occupying that space. Neither said a word, Ranma was busy waiting for his master to awaken and Ryoga was flat out still unconscious.

The black haired Saotome child leaned over to his master's face and inspected him, growing impatient he placed his hand on the chest of his master and began lightly shaking him in his sleep. "H-hey... ain't cha' gonna' get up, master?"

Ryoga groaned in his immobile state, obviously Ranma's tactic worked to some degree. "A-Akane...?" Ryoga groaned and opened his eyes, spotting what he noticed to be a blurred blob; his mind in this current position tried its best to make Ranma in the shape of Akane but sadly he regained his composure far too fast, and his mind could not alter the vision of Ranma Saotome looming over him.

Glaring up at the other boy, he sat up and shoved Ranma off of him. The picture of Ranma's husky form laying on top of him, calling him master, was too surreal, and so the whole event struck as nothing more than a dream to the lost boy. "What the hell is going on?" Ryoga asked, massaging the side of his aching head. Frustration mounted as the memories of the events preceding his fainting came rushing back to him.

"Beats me, master..." Ranma replied unwittingly, shrugging and moving back over to Ryoga and trying to lay across his lap. He was unaware of the other boy's shudder or the seething rage that threatened to let loose on him as he did this.

"Get away!" Ryoga shouted, using his arms to pry Ranma off of him. When his efforts proved to be fruitless, he gave an exasperated cry and smashed a fist into Ranma's face, finally removing said person off of his lap. "You've got to be kidding me, why does your nonsense have to follow me!" Ryoga pointed, baring his teeth at Ranma.

Ranma stared unbelievingly at Ryoga as he rubbed a hand across a bruised cheek. He felt a pang in his heart as realization dawned on him; he had failed to please his master. He lowered his head in defeat and let out a heavy sigh. He then remembered a pair of tickets he'd stashed in his pocket. Excitement coursed through his veins as he realized that all hope was not lost. He jerked his head up to face Ryoga once more and cried, "I-I can make it up to ya', I swear!"

"How the hell are you supposed to make up for all the grief you've caused, huh! Saotome!" Ryoga demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Ranma. He clenched his hand tightly into a fist. His skin went white as it began to shake violently. His tone was low as he let out a ferall growl, "You've got some nerve..."

From his awkwardly seated position, Ranma produced in his hands return tickets to Nerima and showed them to his master, hoping to aid in his healing process. His hands were jittery as he nervously held the tickets up to Ryoga's face. "I can get ya' back to Nerima..." Ranma offered in an attempt to appease his master.

Ryoga was stunned that Ranma was willing to help him get back to Nerima. For a moment, a flicker of confusing shown on his face as he tried to wrap around the idea in his mind. Wasn't his rival aware that he would immediately try to win Akane's affection and steal her away from him the moment he touched down in Nerima? He couldn't make sense of Ranma's new attitude towards him. The kind-heartedness was too strange for the jerk. "Why the hell are you even offering me that?" Ryoga asked. A fang poked out of his mouth before he stared away from Ranma, almost downcast as he inwardly fought with himself. This was Ranma, for crying out loud, there was no need to get so worked up about this. Ryoga had always been a sucker for kindness.

"Cause... you're my master, that's why." The black haired Saotome child rose to his feet and held out his free hand, giving Ryoga a warm smile.

The lost boy reluctanly relented to Ranma's offer, deluding himself into believing that it was perfectly alright for him to take one the tickets if it meant returning to his precious Akane. "Don't call my master..." he growled before batting Ranma's hand away and standing on his own two feet. "Let's just get the hell outta' here already."

Ranma swiftly nodded his head and dug his hand into his other pocket, taking only a brief moment to reveal a map. He scanned the map for while before stabbing a finger at a particular point of the map. He then quickly drug it to another spot. "We gotta' go this way for a bit and then we'll be at the airport," Ranma stated with a smile on his face.

Ryoga's eye twitched. The idea of having Ranma lead him anywhere was annoying, but what else could he do in this situation? Wait around for an unimaginable amount of time to see Akane or wait a day or two on an airplane and then see her? His harsh internal debate ended with him ultimately coming to the conclusion that he had to suck up his pride and follow Ranma.

Apparently Ranma noticed his master's reluctance to follow when he walked ahead, because when he turned back to make sure he was following close behind, he found that Ryoga was still rooted to the ground. He bounced back towards him and asked, "Come on... it can't be too bad, can it?"

There was a moment of silence before Ryoga growled and followed at a slow gate. The entire duration of his walk, he kept his head down, annoyed by Ranma's newly formed attitude. He was already beginning to hate this side of Ranma more.

The pig-tailed boy gave a silent sigh. He didn't want to displease his master at all, but even after offering him the tickets, he could tell that the other boy was still unhappy. But what more could he do? His master had always held a large dislike of him. It would be a long time before he would be able to change his opinion of him. However, Ranma was willing to endure it all; his loyalty and honor depended on it!

After a while, Ranma began to grow concerned. He always knew his master was depressed, but he wasn't usually this silent or broody; at least that was what he told himself. But the longer the silence drew on, the more worried he became. He was just about to turn around and ask the other boy what was wrong when he noticed something about his surroundings. He could only hear his own footsteps and not Ryoga's.

Alarmed by his discovery, Ranma jerked around only to find that Ryoga was nowhere in sight. He widened his eyes as he mentally smacked himself in the face for being such a dolt. He had forgotten all about Ryoga's directional curse. "Master!" he cried, praying to kami-sama that he hadn't already gotten too far away from him.

He broke out into a run, speeding down a hill of sand and nearly tripping over his own feet. A strong gust of wind arose just then, kicking up sand nearby and slapping it in Ranma's face. He clenched his eyes shut in pain as the sand burned his eyes. No longer able to see where he was going, Ranma made a misstep and fell end over end down the sandy hill and landing in a puff of smoke at the bottom.

As the sand cleared and revealed Ranma's fallen form, he coughed wiped his face with his hand, removing dust particles from his eyes. He warily opened his eyes. Through puffy red eyes, he searched around for any signs of Ryoga. He finally stopped when he saw Ryoga's fleeing form in the distance.

Knowing now that he was not to late, Ranma cried, "Master!" and sped off in Ryoga's direction. He sprinted as fast as he could. A light smile played onto his lips as he drew ever closer to the other. In no time at all he had caught up to the boy. As he neared the boy, he began slowing down, but he wasn't fast enough, as he was heading straight for Ryoga's back. At this point, he was unable to veer left or right, and he inevitably crashed into the other both, and together the two fell into a heap of tangled limbs.

"Ugh," Ryoga gasped as he unexpectedly fell to the ground. He was knocked into a state of dizziness, and the whole world spun around him as he tried to make sense of what just happened. When he finally began to recover from his ordeal, he saw that Ranma was on top of him once more. He sent the pig-tailed boy the meanest glare he could conjure up and shouted, "What the hell are you doin'?" He was ready to pound Ranma into the ground once more.

Ranma, already knowing what was coming to him from past experiences, removed himself from Ryoga's person as best as he could. Unfortunately for him, this was not as easy as it sounded, as a few of his appendages had found themselves under Ryoga, sandwiched between him and the sandy ground. As a result, Ranma's jerk caused Ranma and Ryoga both to fall down in a roll into another depression. They fell end over end until they finally reached the bottom, where they were finally separated by the force of gravity.

Ryoga groaned. Today was just not his day. Slowly, he picked himself off the ground and glared down at Ranma. "Just what the hell was that for?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean ta do that, master!" Ranma cried as he held his hands up defensively. He whimpered as his master stood over him menacingly. "ya got lost on yur way, and I was just tryin' ta find ya. That's all, I swear!"

"Are you mocking me?" Ryoga growled as his eye twitched for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. He snapped. "And what did I say about calling me master?" As he watched Ranma break down into hysterics, he shook his head frustratedly and said, "Look, let's just drop it, okay? Let's get back to Nerima already."

Ranma stopped and stared up at Ryoga warily. After a while he nodded voicelessly and stood up, taking the lead again and leading Ryoga toward the airport. After what seemed like forever, they reached their destination. After the exceedingly boring preparations for their flight-dealing with security checks, metal detectors, and so on and so forth-they boarded a small plane and were ready for the long flight back to Nerima.

They were given the best seats on the plane, a row of comfortable looking seats that oddly resembled couches. They energetically took their seats, and as much as Ryoga was discomforted by the fact that Ranma was only sitting inches away from him, as the make-shift couch was only large enough to accommodate the two of them, he couldn't deny that the feeling of relaxing in the soft cushion wasn't worth it. He could practically feel the tension ebb away from him as he leaned back into the fabric of the couch and closed his eyes.

Ranma watched Ryoga the entire time, making sure to remain silent. After the most recent incident with him running into Ryoga, he didn't dare utter a word to his master. He waited patiently should the lost boy command him to take action.

The silence wasn't awkward to the lost boy, as he allowed his mind to drift around aimlessly in thought. He kept his eyes closed, avoiding eye contact with the pig-tailed martial artist. While usually displeased with the very presence of Ranma, this time he was able to cast their differences aside, as they were able to in times of dire need. His thoughts then trailed to all the different encounters he and Ranma had had up to this point. He found it quite odd that he was using his bizarre relationship with Ranma to distract him from Ranma, but he didn't stop himself.

And then he regretted not doing so, as the call of 'master' echoed in his thoughs. The very word, etched deeply in his mind, left him in a fit of shudders. He felt uneasy as he brought an unsteady hand to his head and touched his temples. The word left an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Ranma immediately noticed Ryoga's change in mood and asked, "What's up master?" He placed a hand on his shoulder and gripped firmly onto it.

"Don't touch me!" Ryoga replied, in a grim tone. His throat dried as he tried to swallow non-existent saliva. "...Why do you keep calling me that?" His voice faltered as he asked that. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling.

Ranma shook his head and replied simply, "Because I gotta'... kay?"

Ryoga was at a loss; he couldn't piece together anything that Ranma said. Why was Ranma doing all this, and why did he insist on calling him by that intolerable name? They both hated each other's guts! At least, most of the time they did. But that was just what they did when they were around each other. It was the norm! Very rarily did they ever cooperate with one another. And now, here Ranma was going against everything their rivalry stood for.

Almost painfully, Ryoga groaned and said, "At least keep your hands to yourself...I'm not okay with another man touching me." He just wasn't willing to deal with this right now. Or rather, he couldn't. His mind was going in a million different directions, and his most important task had to be obtaining Akane's affection for himself. He can deal with Ranma's ridiculous attitude later.

Ranma gave Ryoga a calculated look before raising one of his hands and calling to a flight attendant. "Can I get one of those?" Ranma asked, pointing to one of the items for sale. The attendant handed Ranma the water bottle and nodded her head, leaving.

Ryoga didn't even pay Ranma any mind while he was ordering something. Instead he looked out the window and stared at the scenery outside, mesmorized by its beauty.

"Oh Ryoga..." a female voice said, right before she leaned onto the lost boy and held his arm in place. "You're such a big strong man..." she said, her voice soothing and somewhat suggestive.

Big blue eyes met with Ryoga's green eyes and he found himself a bit transfixed to hers. "Stop that!" He suddenly found himself breathing heavier as he struggled to come to grips with the situation at hand.

The two were obviously making a scene, since a few of the other passengers(mostly the males) stared at Ryoga, wanting to be in his position. "I'm sorry master...!" Ranma groaned, nuzzling her head to the arm of her strong master. The feeling sending chills up the spine of the poor lost boy. It was at that moment that Ryoga felt his nose release a trickle of blood and his movement halted.

Ranma stopped and turned her head to the frozen Ryoga, she blinked for a moment. "Guess dat was too much for him to handle..." Ranma commented. In truth, all she really wanted to do was to appease her master, to make him feel wanted. It was something that Ryoga had been wanting from Akane, and Ranma was sure in herself that she could fill that role. Not to mention the fact that he was obviously displeased with being in the company of a man, so being unable to return to being a man, she turned toward her curse.

meanwhile, unbenknownst to either Ranma or Ryoga, Genma, the white gi wearing master, looked around his campsite and noticed that Ranma had gone missing. It took him a moment before he realized something. Ranma had both tickets back home..."Ranma!" he cried, falling to his knees with his hands clamped to the sides of his head.

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DaisukiFox: That's it for today folks! And don't worry we have an explanation for the way Ranma's been acting! Or at least I assume we do... it's been awhile and I'll probably need to ask thechilldude where we were gonna' take this fic.

thechilldude: One more thing. I'd like to note that Dai's and my writing style are drastically different, and he was the one that wrote this one mainly and I was trying to add in a few details here and there and somehow I added a lot of details. 1400 words of details to be exact, and it makes me feel really bad for adding so much to it when it's his work too! But I assure you that the direction of the chapter was left unchanged and the dialogue pretty much stayed the same. Anybody who reads my stories can immediately tell this because Dai's better at wording their dialogue than I am. I look forward continuing this piece alongside Dai and hope that our writing styles won't clash as we progress through this piece. The next chapter shall be written by me and edited by Dai, so he gets the next chance to scrutinize one of our chapters. xD Also I'd like to point out that this is my first dual author fanfiction, and we are only in the second chapter thus far (and with us having such a long break since the last one), so please excuse any major flaws in our writing styles. I believe that as we continue writing this piece, our teamwork will shine, and we'll have a wonderful piece for world of Ranma/Ryoga fanfiction. This has been news from thechilldude, reporting out. Have a good day. :P


	3. Realization

thechilldude's note: Hello again, welcome back to another exciting chapter of Ryoga no Teishu. In this chapter, many of you will be pleased that the main question you all have on your minds will be answered. How did this, whatever it is, happen to Ranma? From what we've seen in chapter 1, Ranma's change in attitude toward Ryoga appears to be a direct result from being saved by him whilst in neko-ken form. In this chapter, we'll explain that along with a few theories on how it all happened.

DaisukiFox: Sorry for the delay, I've been very busy with my own projects and my other projects, thank you for waiting. Now if you excuse me! I'm gonna' try and ignore my need to video game and finish the new chapter of another team project!

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The ride to Japan went by faster than Ryoga had initially thought it would. However, that was most probably because he was passed out on the cushioning of the seat due to another one of Ranma's insane actions. He seriously couldn't tell how much more of this he would be able to deal with; he hoped that Ranma would return to normal soon, but he was beginning to lose hope. Maybe there was something seriously wrong with him after all.

Ryoga turned to Ranma and stared at her as he felt the plane touch down on the runway. He was overall surprised. Still, Ranma was breaking away from how he normally behaved, just by continuing to stay in his female form. Normally, the pig-tailed boy would be anxious to return to being a guy, but right now he, or rather she for the moment, seemed almost content with her present form.

This was what scared him most of all. He could simply have written off anything bizarre that Ranma may have said as just another one of his attempts to tease him or get back at him one way or the other. To remain a girl, even while he was unconscious, was a powerful statement, because that meant that Ranma had an ulterior motive, one that Ryoga wasn't sure of yet. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what the motive was.

Ranma finally noticed that Ryoga was now awake, and she turned toward her master and cooed. "Master, you're awake!"

"You're not going to stop calling me that no matter what I say, are you?" Ryoga asked finally as his shoulders sagged in defeat.

Ranma cried out in glee, "Nope!" She had a cheeky smile planted on her face as she stared at Ryoga's eyes longingly. There was something very different in the way she looked at him. If Ranma was trying to get back at Ryoga, she was doing a damn good job at keeping him from finding out.

Ryoga blushed before scuffing and looking away from the longing puppy dog eyes of Ranma, "...don't cha at least want to turn back inta a guy?" he asked, trying to change the subject; in order to maintain his sanity.

Ranma grew quiet, silently pondering the question thrown her way, but she didn't manage to say anything as the plane finally made contact with the ground. Now that landing had finished, it was only a few moments before the un-boarding process would begin. All throughout this event, Ranma remained quiet, almost as if she was avoiding Ryoga's question. Though Ryoga found it odd that she remained quiet for such a long time but whatever gave him time away from being called 'Master' was definitely time better spent in peace.

"Whatever happened to your hate for your curse?" Ryoga questioned, finally feeling his curiosity peak. The fang toothed boy knew that it was only a matter of time before Ranma would spring her trap, whether it was just to humiliate him or gain in an advantage in martial arts, he would find out sooner or later, why not start now?

It looked like Ranma was about to speak when a voice intercepted her over the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have landed safely in the Tokyo International Airport. As you unboard, we hope that you enjoy your stay in Tokyo, Japan."

Completely ignoring his continuing question, Ranma suddenly jumped out of her seat with a spring in her step. Stretching, she arched her back as she flexed her arms behind her head before letting out an indignant sigh. "Well, what'do ya know. It's 'bout time we got off of this blasted plane."

Bounding for the exit, Ranma disappeared into a crowd of impatient tourists and citizens. Ryoga reached out for Ranma in an attempt to stop her in her tracks; when he failed, he shouted, "Ranma! Where do ya think yer goin'? Get back here!" He chased after her, throwing himself against the throng of people.

A sense of chaos settled in about the place as the people pushed and turned. The flight attendants were surprised by the sudden turn of events. No one expected this many people to stand by the exit, anxiously trying to be the first one out the door when they were ready to depart. One of the flight attendants finally regained their composure and cried, "Please, everyone, calm down! Everyone will be able to leave soon enough once we've docked."

Somehow in the midst of the chaos, Ryoga was able to reach Ranma. However, the chance for conversation never came, as the people around them began to get vocal with their unrest. Ryoga yelled at Ranma in order to grab her attention, but his cry was drowned out by the incessant screeching of unhappy passengers.

One particular man huffed and puffed before yelling at the top of his lungs. "Get me off this damned plane already! You know how long we've been waiting in here? Nineteen and a half hours!"

The man's voice echoed into Ryoga's ear, causing them to ring as the lost boy fruitlessly attempted to deafen the shrill cry with his hands planted firmly on top of his ears. The man's yell was just too loud. Ryoga immediately turned toward the man and shouted, "Quit yellin' inta my ear like that!"

Before either of them could exchange retorts, the passenger door opened up and the throng of people spilled out over the side and disappeared into broad daylight. It was then that something grasped Ryoga's hand and tugged him out the door.

He soon plunged alongside his mysterious rescuer onto the pile of fallen bodies. The sensations of being pressed up against other people below him left him with a dissatisfying aftertaste in his mouth.

He pushed himself up and turned to his right. Ranma was laying there, next to him, similarly recovering from the shock. "Ugh, what happened...? I was tryin' ta stay on board and then I was pushed. I tried ta hold onta the first thing I could, but I fell out anyway."

"And ya just had ta pick me ta fall out wit' ya, huh?" Ryoga asked bitterly. Ranma chuckled nervously as she scratched at her head. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend that Ryoga wasn't angry at her, but to no avail.

Because her eyes were closed, she was unaware of the sharp flying object headed directly for her. Ryoga himself didn't notice it at first either, being somewhat consumed with rage as he threatened to lash out at his acquaintance. However, when the object was just upon Ranma, he dropped his battle aura. Ranma was completely open to attack; under her estranged condition, she was unable to fight properly at her top form. There was no doubt, under these circumstances that she would be impaled by the weapon.

Ryoga reacted. He lunged into Ranma, sending the two of them teetering over the mound of people and roughly onto the ground. Ryoga groaned as he recovered from the blow. He slowly opened his eyes. Deep blue eyes stared back at him; Ranma's face was only inches away from his own.

The attack scared away the other passengers, as they began to scatter in every direction, fleeing the madman who had been daring enough to attack them on the runway.

"It would seem that I was mistaken about the relationship you two had together." said a familiar voice as the young man stepped towards them. Strangely enough, he walked right past them, stopped in front an old married couple who held each other in their arms, shivering as they were scared for their lives. "Have you really forsaken Shampoo's heart like that, Ranma, and gotten yourself involved with another man?"

Ryoga stared at Mousse deadpanned. "Uhh, Mousse, we're over here?" he said warily.

Mousse, realizing his mistake, turned towards Ryoga and Ranma in surprise and let out an exasperated cry. "I knew that!" He stomped his foot on the ground and yelled, "You've disgraced Shampoo's honor for the last time Saotome!" He flung a couple of sythe blades at the pair of martial artists.

As the two martial artists jumped up and evaded the attack, they began to retreat towards a safe distance. "What have ya done now, Saotome?" Ryoga glared at Ranma as he followed her close behind.

"I dunno!" Not wanting to spend another moment there, they ran straight for the Tendo household.

* * *

The two martial artists practicall crawled through the first gate. Ryoga leaned almost all of his weight onto a stick as he nearly collapsed with each passing step. Next to him, Ranma fell to the ground passed out. Exhaustion was settling in on the two martial artists.

The chaos didn't end at the airport. After leaving, Ryoga was nearly trampled by a flock of teenaged girls. Twice. The first time was because they were rushing past him towards the nearest panty store, sales clearly on their minds. The second time was because the first left both Ryoga and Ranma in a precarious situation. Immediately jumping to the wrong conclusion, the girls came back to him and beat him up, calling him a pervert and a rapist.

If only that was all that Ryoga was forced to deal with. After managing to run away from the mean girls, they were surrounded by a group of jealous guys, who proceeded to beat up Ryoga. This was, of course, after Ranma had called him master once more.

It goes without saying that after half a day of running around Nerima, both of them were glad to be standing in front of the Tendo household. They were both tuckered out from their perilous journey and wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep.

Frustrated by the day's events, Ryoga turned towards the fallen Ranma and whacked her. Growling, he yelled, "Ranma Saotome, you'll pay for all the pain you've caused me! Prepare to die!"

"Master!" Ranma screamed, terrified. She held up her hand in front of her head and cowered.

From the sidelines, Akane Tendo was watching the two martial artists interact with one another. She had just gotten done from an intense excericise, and was currently wiping her brow free of sweat with a clean rag when she heard the commotion. "What's going on here?" she asked as she ran up to them.

Ryoga immediately stopped in his murderous attempts and leaned away, falling on his bottom. Turning toward Akane, he bowed and said nervously, "N-nothing A-Akane-san!"

"M-master?" Ranma questioned. In an instant, Ryoga went from angry to apologetic. His sudden emotional change caused Ranma alarm. Something stirred within her as she turned to face Akane. "'Kane..." She sensed an almost murderous intent exuding from the other woman.

"First you leave without telling me a thing. And now that you've come back the first thing I hear you say is 'master' to Ryoga. Hentai!" Revealing her illustrious mallet, Akane beat Ranma upside the head, knocking the red-head out.

Ryoga sat there motionlessly, contemplating on whether he should stay back and try to explain the situation to Akane or to run away now while he still had the chance.

"That baka," Akane murmured. "Ranma got himself into trouble again, didn't he? He's never called you that before." she sent a long, almost sad stare in Ryoga's direction.

The lost boy was taken aback by Akane's statement. He was utterly speechless, it wasn't until after Akane repeated her question that he finally collected himself and said, "W-well 'bout that...Ya see, I dunno what's gotten inta Ranma. When I was in Paris, I saw him bein' attacked by a pack of lions. He wasn't quite actin' like himself. I stopped the lions in their tracks, but when the battle was over, he was treatin' me differently. I dunno what ta think 'bout it."

When he saw Akane's sullen face, Ryoga shrugged the whole event off and chuckled. "I'm sure it's just 'nother one of his tricks. Saotome's always been doin' this ta me so it's nothin' new. You shouldn't worry 'bout it, A-Akane." He gulped as he tried to bring himself to confess his love for Akane.

However, before he did so, Akane broke the silence. "That pervert. You're such a gentleman, unlike him. Could you carry him to his room for me? I know he doesn't deserve it, after everything he's done to you, but we can't leave him out here." Akane asked. Even as she said this, something was bothering her.

It wouldn't be the first time that Ranma played tricks on Ryoga. But whenever he would, he'd always dress up for the part. In this case, he was wearing his normal training clothes. And Ryoga's testimony didn't sit well with her. According to him, Ranma was acting strange even before he was aware of Ryoga's presence. Decidedly, Akane told herself that she would get to the bottom of this matter.

Ryoga groaned as he picked Ranma up. This was the last thing that he wanted to do, but if it was Akane's will, then he would carry it out without complaint. "Sure thing, Akane-san." He carried Ranma up to his room and dumped him on a futon that was left out. "Typical Ranma. Always leavin' his messes wherever he goes."

There was a knock on the door, causing Ryoga to turn towards the newcomer. "Ryoga, it must have been a long day for you. Would you like to stay for dinner?" Kasumi asked sweetly as she gave him an earnest smile.

Ryoga couldn't help but return her smile and respond, "Sure thing, Kasumi."

* * *

At the dinner table, the Tendo sisters, their father, and Ryoga were pleasantly munching down on Kasumi's cooking. They spent this time in silence, save for the quiet chewing sounds emanating from each one of them.

After finishing her meal and setting down her utensils, Kasumi said, "so how was your trip, Ryoga-kun?"

"Same old, same old, I suppose. Though my encounter with Ranma was 'bout as strange as it could get." Ryoga responded.

Akane joined in on the conversation, "but when you found him, he was in neko-ken form, right? I mean, he was being attacked by lions after all, and they were cats." She heard Kasumi gasp in surprise as she said this.

"Ya, I guess." Ryoga said. "Why?"

Akane looked thoughtful as she placed a hand on her chin. "Nothing," she eventually murmured. "It's just I-it's something I can't get out of my mind. Excuse me for a moment. I want to check up on Ranma and see how he's doing."

The stairs creaked as Akane slowly escalated them. Once at the top, she peered into the guest bedroom, which were currently Ranma's sleeping quarters. She watched the red-headed martial artist toss and turn, groaning in her sleep. A pained expression formed on her face, disturbed by a bad dream.

"Ranma?" Akane said pensively. She pushed the door open, and it made a creaking sound as it revealed the rest of the room to her. She hesitantly entered the room, almost crawling to Ranma's side as she repeated, "Ranma? You awake, Ranma?"

Ranma groaned as she opened her eyes. The pig-tailed martial artist was surprised. She didn't expect the first thing she saw when she woke up to be Akane. "Oh, it's jus' you 'Kane. Wassup?" She gave a loud yawn as she clenched her eyes shut and stretched.

"Ryoga told me what happened to you on your training trip, Ranma," Akane said sternly. "You mind telling me about it?"

"It's nothin' an uncute tomboy should concern herself with." Ranma snapped.

A fit of anger came across Akane's face in response to Ranma's insult. She stepped towards Ranma intending to pull out her mallet and beat him upside the head once again, but she stopped herself short. She couldn't allow her anger to get the better of her. Finally, when she was in control of herself again, she grumbled, "something doesn't add up. Why did you call Ryoga your master earlier?"

Ranma glared at her before replying, "'Cuz I gotta, I guess. I dunno. Why do you care?" She didn't even deny her accusation.

"Ranma, would you just let me in for once?" Akane begged. "I think there's something wrong with you. Nothing ever good comes from your neko-ken form. I-I think we should go see Dr. Tofu. Just to make sure everything's alright." Akane finished worriedly. Akane was fully aware of Ranma's fear of cats and knew that it was never easy for him to recover from a bout of neko-ken.

"Oh yah? And why should I? There's nothin wrong wit me." Ranma declared violently. She clenched her fists as tightly as she could until they shook with fury. Akane always did manage to push her buttons, and given the recent turn of events the youngest Tendo was on thin ice. This was her master's love interest. "So get outta my face, ya uncute tomboy! I wanna be left alone!"

"Stop it!" Akane yelled. "Just go see Dr. Tofu for me, please?"

Ranma grumbled and fell silent. She glared at the ground, as if she would somehow burn a hole through the floor. She felt Akane's cold stare; she was adamant about Ranma seeing a professional. After a few more moments, Ranma sighed and relented. "Fine, but im only gonna go if master's wit me."

Akane almost smacked him. Almost. But she held her breath as she forced herself to calm down. There's something wrong with Ranma, she convinced herself. It wasn't his fault he was this way, at least she didn't think it was. For the most part, he acted normal. It was only with Ryoga that he acted differently. The way her fiance' cowered beneath Ryoga, pleading for him to stop, calling him his master. Akane couldn't get that visage out of her head, and her gut told her that something was seriously wrong with Ranma.(1)

"Alright," Akane said once she was composed. "Let's go ask him on our way out, shall we?"

It wasn't long before the two of them were at the bottom of the steps. On their way out, Akane approached Ryoga. "Ryoga-kun, could you do me another favor? Could you accompany Ranma and I to Dr. Tofu's place? We just want to make sure that everything's alright with Ranma. After being faced with those lions, anything could have happened to Ranma."

Ryoga, who was busying himself with a game of shogi with Mr. Tendo, became still. As he faced Akane, she didn't see any of the cheerfulness that was usually in Ryoga's eyes. Instead they were cold and heartless. "No. You may be worried about Ranma, but I dun share your sympathy. Ranma's problems are none of my concern." He then turned back to his game. He frowned bitterly as he moved a piece on the board. As much as he hated to be rude to Akane, he was still unhappy with Ranma.

Akane heard sniffling coming from behind her and she turned to see Ranma on the verge of crying. "Master.." the red-head said weakly before she turned and ran out the front door.

"Ranma..." Akane frowned. She turned back to Ryoga. "I understand the two of you are not on the best of terms. But I thought that even you would want to see this through. Ranma...he needs your support, and you're the only one that knows his situation best."

"Since when didja think me n Ranma were friends?" Ryoga snapped. He shook his head. "No, it dun matter. I'll go. But it's for yur sake. Not his."

The two of them then followed Ranma out the door. They found Ranma on the other side, crumpled up in a fetal position. The girl was clearly devastated by Ryoga's outburst earlier.

"Ranma," Akane said. Worry consumed her as she searched for the right words. Just what happened to Ranma to make him act this way? "Ryoga's changed his mind. He's coming with us now, see?"

Rubbing her arm across her nose, Ranma murmured, "Ranma's no good for master." Depression echoed in her voice.

Ryoga growled. "For the last time, I ain't yur master!" Ryoga yelled. "Now get up, we gotta get ya checked out. You ain't right in the head." Normally he wouldn't dare act this way in front of Akane; he honestly surprised himself. But Ranma was really getting on his nerves today.

Ranma didn't stop crying as she got up. "Master..." she sniffled.

Akane glared at Ryoga. It was the first time she'd ever been angry at Ryoga, and yet she said, "Come on Ranma, let's get going." Like a mother, she took the others' hands in her own and led them towards Dr. Tofu's clinic.

The walk there was thirty minutes or so, and when they finally arrived there, it was almost closing time for the clinic. Dr. Tofu was actually preparing to lock up when the three teenagers arrived. Upon hearing their footsteps, he turned toward them and said, "Oh hello Ranma, Akane, Ryoga-san. What brings you here?"

"It's Ranma. He's acting strange again." Akane explained. "Could you check up on him?"

"I don't see why not, come on in you three." Dr. Tofu said, opening the door. There was tiredness in his voice, but always seemed to be able to take time out of his day for his close friends.

After checking up on Ranma and talking to her for a while inside the clinic, he finally said, "I don't really notice anything out of the ordinary. Physically, Ranma is fine, and he doesn't seem to be acting out of the ordinary. What seems to be the matter?"

It has ta do with me somehow," Ryoga said noncommittally. "With everyone else he's normal. Isn't that right, Saotome?"

"..Master?" Ranma replied as she glanced up at the lost boy.

Dr. Tofu didn't miss the exchange between the two martial artists. "Oh? Could you explain in a little more detail? I'm not sure I understand."

"I found Ranma bein' attacked by a pack of lions. Thinkin' that I wanted ta defeat him myself I intervened and defeated them." Ryoga said.

"Lions. And did Ranma go into his neko-ken form?" Dr. Tofu said.

"Yeah, I think he did," Ryoga replied, "After that he jumped on top of me and started lickin' me. After that I don't remember."

"Was there any other strange occurrences on your way home?" Dr. Tofu asked.

"Come to think of it, there were. Ranma didn't seem ta want to change back inta a guy. He's still in his girl form."

Dr. Tofu leaned back into a nearby chair and scratched his head in wonder. He sat this way for some time before he broke the silence. "This is quite odd. I've never heard of anything like this before. But then again, Ranma is always full of surprises, and his psychology is no different."

There was a dreary tone in his laugh as he leaned toward Ranma and rested his chin in his palm. "Could it be…?" There was a quiet longing in his eye, a longing for better understanding. "Could it be that the neko-ken is not a technique resulting from a heightened fear of cats, but an acquired personality through training under certain, harsh conditions?"

"Huh?" was the collective response from Tofu's listeners.

"I dun understand, ain't that the same thing?" Ryoga snapped. This doctor was beginning to speak in riddles, and it did not bode well for his brain.

"The human brain is an amazing specimen." Dr. Tofu began charismatically. With a single finger, he pushed the arch of his glasses up to the bridge of his nose and continued, "When in danger, it can trigger a fight-or-flight mode, which all animals have innately, and escape danger any way possible. Tell me Ranma, when your father trained you, just how many times did he throw you into the pit?"

Ranma furled her brow and clutched her pants tightly in her hands. She crunched her nose in shivered as she reminisced about those training sessions. "He threw me into that pit every day for a whole month."

"How tragic," Dr. Tofu said as he glared at the ground, "But not all that surprising, considering what I've learned about him from you thus far. Originally after hearing what you experienced that month, I thought that your symptoms of the neko-ken technique was a mix of post traumatic stress disorder and a condition that gave you the delusion of being a cat. The symptoms matched perfectly with what you were going through. However, with what you all just described to me, that may not be the case after all."

Surprise flickered in everyone's eyes. "For Ranma to act this way, even after exiting his neko-ken state, suggests that Ranma's personality has been fractured, and that he is suffering from split personality syndrome. But even this is a remarkable case; most of the time the patients report mysterious blackouts or amnesia-like instances."

"Ya lost me." Ranma said. She pursed her lips as she glared at Dr. Tofu. Her mind was in a daze as she tried to wrap her head around Dr. Tofu's explanation.

Tofu cleared his throat before he continued. "In most cases, when someone has multiple personalities, the personalities fight for dominance. For intervals of time, one personality is in control while the other lays dormant. As the other one comes into control, the person has no recollection of what's transpired while the other personality was in control.

"Up until now, you've experienced short periods where you have no recollection of your memories specifically during times when you came into eyesight with cats. This indicates that you've been experiencing a normal case of the disorder. However, for this development to occur suggests that that is no longer the case. In fact, your situation may have gotten worse; your personalities may be trying to remerge."

As Ranma continued to stare confusedly at Dr. Tofu, Akane gasped and proclaimed, "There is a way you can help Ranma, isn't there?"

Dr. Tofu turned to Akane with discerned look on his face. He said, "I have no idea how to help him. To my knowledge, there aren't a lot of studies done on this disorder, so no one is really sure how it all works or how to fix someone with this disorder. There is only one certainty about Ranma's situation right now. Once it's over, he won't be completely the same."

Ranma may not have understood everything that Dr. Tofu had just said, but she had realized one thing from this discussion, and that something major was happening to her. An awakening fear lodged itself at the precipice of her mind. What would become of her after all this was said and done? And was she happy with where everything was headed? She just didn't know.

She could feel a cold sweat on her face. Unconsciously she wiped her arm across her forehead. It was hard to swallow all so suddenly. Anxiety began to stir within her; she couldn't change. Not like this. For the first time since the training trip, she was aware that she already was changing. Somehow, someway, she knew that something was wrong with her. It was like someone had waltzed into her mind and turned on the light switch, only what she found then wasn't what she wanted at all.

"I…I dun wanna change!" Ranma shouted suddenly. She spun around and broke out into a run. Her reaction was so quick that it took everyone else by surprise. No one had had the chance to stop Ranma as she ran out the door of the clinic and into the street.

"Wait, Ranma," Akane cried out, only for her words to fall on deaf ears. Ranma was already too far away. She turned to Ryoga, "You're the only one that can catch him, Ryoga. Can you please catch up to him and stop him? We don't know for sure if there's nothing we can do to save him."

Ryoga wordlessly nodded and rushed out the door in search for Ranma. By now, he too was worried for Ranma's sake, despite all of his earlier proclamations. Not even one's worst enemy would wish for something like this on Ranma.

It was sometime before Ryoga found Ranma. By now, a light precipitation had made its way to the ground, and Ryoga only barely managed to find himself cover in time under a bridge. Hearing rustling behind him, he turned around to discover Ranma crouching over by a corner, holding her legs up to her chest.

"Ranma," he said warily, unsure of how to act. He wasn't used to seeing Ranma look defeated like this. It just wasn't natural.

Ranma glanced up at the unexpected voice. She was sure that no one would be able to follow her all the way out here. "M-Mast-" She stopped herself short. Why did she insist on calling him that? She wasn't sure herself, but when it first happened it seemed so natural, the word rolled off her tongue so easily. Now that she'd become aware of her actions, she only mentally kicked herself for being doing something embarrassing, in front of Ryoga like that.

"I-I mean…R-Ryoga…Do ya think I'll lose myself forever, jus' like that?" Ranma began to laugh anxiously, "I-I mean there's no way I can be dat different, is there? I…I'll still be me, won't I?" Ranma squeezed herself harder; her hands grew white as she gripped her forearms tightly.

"I…," Ryoga was stunned. Both he and Ranma had had to overcome tough obstacles in the past, the likes of which no ordinary person could. They trained themselves further than human standards deemed physically possible. And yet, there was still the uncertainty of overcoming themselves. Ryoga had no idea where to begin, but he had to say something to Ranma, to give him hope to continue fighting. "I dunno Ranma, but Akane won't give up 'til yur back ta normal. And I won't, either."

Ranma stilled as she processed Ryoga's words. A smile began to form on her face. Abruptly without notice, Ranma leaped towards Ryoga, crying out, "Master!" She glomped him for all he was worth, and together, the two fell onto the ground with Ranma on top, snuggling her head into the crook of his neck. Unfortunately, the experience wasn't very long, as they had fallen into a puddle, causing Ryoga to shape-shift into a little black piglet.

Only then did Ranma realize the error of her ways and slapped herself. She groaned and said, "There I go again, acting like a completely different person." The black pig glared back at her, unhappy about his current predicament. "Come on' Ryoga. Let's get ya inta a warm bath." Ranma flashed him a smile and picked the piglet up, as well as the lost boy's belongings (at least the ones he had on his person), and head back towards the Tendo residence.

* * *

chilldude's end-of-chapter note: Sorry for the delay, we have gotten behind in the updates because of life issues, exams, etc. etc. We actually had the chapter finished more than a month ago, but due to me having exams and projects and holiday stresses as of late, I haven't been able to post this chapter. If anything in this chapter is unclear, let us know and we can make further edits if necessary. ;)

(1): It was sort of difficult when adding Akane as a character. I didn't want her suddenly taking up the spotlight, but at the same time she wasn't a character that could be left in the background. When Ranma and Ryoga come to the Tendo household, this paragraph illustrates her emotional stress to the new development on Ranma's psyche. Ranma's never called Ryoga his master before, nor anyone for that matter, And it sort of stops her in her tracks, so to speak. She doesn't exactly know how to react to Ranma's situation yet.


	4. A New Face

The piercing cry of one Akane Tendo served as a wake-up call for Ranma the next morning. "Ranma, get up! You don't wanna be late for school do you?" A grumble from Ranma in reply was enough for Akane to know she had done her job, and so she withdrew from the room without another word.

Ranma, whose mind was tormented by nightmarish hells in the midst of her woeful sleep, gave a long, irritable sigh before flinging the covers off of her bed. As she righted herself, she stared blankly at the other end of the room, where a pile of school books were stacked neatly on the corner. A vociferous yawn escaped her lips before she proclaimed that she was on her way down. From one hell to the next she went.

It was a weekday. And that most certainly meant she would have to go to school, where she would most likely be reprimanded by the teachers. Why? The presence of her schoolbooks was evidence enough; weeks of unfinished work lay in that stack of books, glaring back at her menacingly. This wasn't a new development, as her martial arts came first and foremost to everything else. However, when she and Ryoga had come home the previous night, Akane's suggestion to finish it made it seem that it was.

But Ranma didn't have the patience to sit down and hit the books. She was a martial artist; how would algebra save her in a fight. Studying like a normal teenager just wasn't meant for her. To hell with what the others had to say about it. The system was not going to help her make more informative decisions, nor was it going to achieve some grandeur goal. No, she already knew what her immediate future entailed. Settling down with a wife and running her dojo. Maybe have some kids while she was at it.

At least, that's what she wanted for herself. Running around pretending that everything was hunky-dory, that she was going to get married, have kids, and maintain a reasonable income, wasn't going to change the fact that she had very big problems. Aside from the fact that she had numerous fiancées and rivals, which appeared to be an obligatory reality for Ranma's chaotic life in Nerima, there was her most recent problem being associated with her neko-ken. More specifically, it involved her neko-ken and Ryoba Hibiki.

Ranma gave another weary sigh. She didn't want to think about any of it. The threat of losing herself to the neko-ken lingered on her very soul. She dreaded what may become of her. Dr. Tofu's assertions that she would be forever changed after the merging of her personalities left a bitter taste in her mouth. As far as he was aware, even with all his medical knowledge and background in the dark arts of magic, there was no preventing it.

The thought of losing to her neko-ken was beginning to anger her. Ranma Saotome didn't lose. _He_ wouldn't lose, because the very thought of losing was out of the question for the heir to the Anything Goes martial arts. But what was she supposed to do? She was hard-pressed to find a cure fast; there was no telling how long she had until the mental metamorphosis was complete. The odds just weren't in her favor at the moment.

Ranma briskly stood up and walked out of her room. She couldn't give up now. Surely she would find some way to mitigate her problem. Confidence grew within her as she stepped into the bathroom. She would start by changing herself back into a guy. "Much better," Ranma said once he dumped a bucket of hot water over his head, reverting himself back into his male form. His stomach then growled, alerting him of his hunger. "S'pose I should get some of Kasumi's cookin'."

Smiling to himself, he walked down the stairs into the dining area, where the rest of the family, minus Genma, was already eating. The smell of good food wafted into his nose, further increasing his need to satiate his appetite. He bounded towards a seat and not giving himself a second to situate himself as he began to devour into various foods with alarming speed. This action elicited a scowl from Akane, a stunned expression on Soun, a small smile from Kasumi, and an almost playful look from Nabiki.

Only Ryoga's glare, however, had a profound effect on him. Almost immediately, he seized up, all but dropping the food in his hands. Downcast, his eyes drifted downward, staring at the floor. At seeing the lost boy's angry expression, he felt a pang in his heart; yet again, he had failed his master, a voice inside his head said. Perhaps it was because he transformed himself back into a guy? Or maybe it was something else.

Evidently Ryoga was baffled by this complete one-eighty change in his attitude, as he sensed the other's demeanor change entirely. As he stared back up at the eternally lost boy, he caught Ryoga's shocked expression transform into unbridled fury. He heard Ryoga grumble something under his breath, but he didn't quite catch it.

He didn't stay to find out, either. Terrified of his master's anger and disappointment, Ranma made a quick dash for the exit, leaving his meal unfinished. "Imma get ready n' go ta school now." He shouted over his shoulder. A moment later, he could have sworn he heard someone cry "'Baka!', followed by what closely resembled a mallet bonking somebody upon the head. The shout after that was unmistakable, however. He could quite clearly hear his master yelling his name at the top of his lungs. Despaired even more so than before, Ranma double timed out the front door.

* * *

Once she managed to catch up with her fiance, the rest of her walk to school felt infinitely longer than normal. Outwardly, Ranma seemed carefree and stoic. With his hands behind his head, he walked on top of a long row of metallic fencing overlooking a beautiful pond. His posture on that fence, however, masked the inner turmoil Akane knew he must be dealing with at this very moment.

Grounded, Akane was walking next to him, a mixed expression settling on her face. She had trouble sorting out her feelings about Ranma's delicate situation. On the one hand, she was inexplicably furious with Ranma who, given the current circumstance, was practically fawning over Ryoga. Because it wasn't her fiancee's fault, however, she simply couldn't assign blame where it wasn't warranted.

The dominating emotion, however, was not anger, but worry. Her thoughts were riddled with their predicament, from how Dr. Tofu assessed Ranma's mental state to how the parties involved were going to cope with said mental state and Ranma's imminent breakdown. Akane shook her head with teary eyes. It was best not to delve into that line of thought.

Because of her mental inquiries, Akane did not see an oncoming attacker until sudden movement to her right disrupt her train of thought. When she glanced over to Ranma, he was now situated on solid ground, having dodged an flurry of knives projected in his general vicinity. Seeing him in his normal fighting stances nearly made her forget about everything. There was nothing left in his body language to indicate there was an underlying problem that had been nagging them for the last couple of days.

Standing in place of Ranma atop of those rails was Mousse, who trailed after his knives. He gave a mystical laugh, and said something about taking revenge on Shampoo's honor. Akane didn't really follow the two martial artist's banter all that well, but she did know what this encounter signified; that they would once again be late for class. Akane choked down an anxious laugh as she discovered that a list of her problems actually consisted of being late for class. It seemed trivial compared to the real deal. But habits and routines, once festered into one's daily lives, were hard to crack. "Ranma, we're gonna be late!"

There seemed to be no even transition from the martial artist's quips to their follow-up fight as a chained weapon of indeterminable nature flowed freely from Mousse's sleeve. In the span of a breath, he gripped firmly on to the chain and swung it in an arc at Ranma, who wasted no time in leaping into the air to avoid the offending weapon, which stopped just short of cutting into her abdomen. By now she could see that it was a sickle attached to the chain, small but sharp. Immediately, she wished glares could kill as she delivered one to Mousse, who gave an apologetic shrug before continuing his struggle.

As the weapon completed its arc, Mousse reeled the weapon in with one mighty tug and replaced it within the confounds of his sleeves. Not a moment later, he flung a bomb at Ranma, who was unable to dodge due to being momentarily displaced above ground. He hesitated but a moment as the projectile neared. He then struck the bomb with a well placed kick, sending it to explode harmlessly in the distance.

But that moment was all Mousse had needed as he flung himself at Ranma once more, equipping himself with a kunai and stabbing at Ranma. Akane heard a gasp from Ranma before he converted his momentum to parry the assault and loose a counter strike. One kick to Mousse's wrist, and then another to the area joining his neck and shoulder as Ranma spun downward.

When Ranma's feet finally connected with the ground, he gave a pleased sigh, "Ya almost had me there, Mousse." He then gave a cheeky smile that indicated he was enjoying this fight. In contrast, Mousse had a scowl about his face as he growled over his failed assassination attempt. Situated on top of the rails once again, Mousse delivered another barrage comprised of kunai and bombs in Ranma's direction. He gave a sneer, admiring his work as Ranma struggled to stay safely away from the sharp kunai and the exploding bombs. The overlay of bombs in his barrage of kunai proved to be an effective strategy as one of the explosions partially burned Ranma's arm as he avoided a direct strike from one of the kunai. A grunt followed the explosion, the only other indication that the blow had connected.

Akane gave an irritable sigh as her patience was wearing thin. Already knowing the outcome of the fight, she just wanted to end this pointless drivel sooner rather than later. Knowing what she must do next, she looked to her inner self in search of some focal point. This is one of those rare moments where she achieves complete calmness as she discovers that focal point and holds onto it as if it were a lifeline.

Just as in her training, she felt the energy coursing through her veins. As it traveled, it collected at her focal point, and as it did she fell into a stance where half of her body was closer to Mousse than the other with her arms parallel to the ground and knees bent. As the energy inside her overflowed, she released it, and as she did so she changed her stance so that the half of her body that was facing away from Mousse now wasn't, her arm outstretched.

Some invisible force struck Mousse, sending him careening into the pond. As he fell, he gave a shout of surprise. Akane did not give him the chance to recover as she broke out into a run to the school, grabbing Ranma's hand as she went along. She heard his protest as they ran along the sidewalk. "Hey," Ranma cried, "What gives? Why'd ya do that? 'At was my fight!" Ranma paused for a moment before continuing. "Wait, how'd ya do that?"

"No time for that now, we're gonna be late!" she exclaimed, hoping that would suffice for the time being. Ranma was silenced, but she could tell even without looking at him that he still wanted to ask questions.

* * *

By the time they got to the school, the bell had already rung. After that kind of run, any normal person would be out of breath by now, but for the two martial artists they were back to normal with a single breath or two. Ranma stared up at the school, which surely housed a vast array of knowledge, almost none of which he understood. Especially not the endless stack of work assigned to him.

But that wasn't what Ranma was interest in the moment. What had his attention was the technique Akane used mere moments before. Since when had she known to do something like? "How'd ya do that?" He repeated, hoping to get an answer this time. Since they were already late, they might as well talk about it right now.

"You weren't the only one that was training this past month, Ranma." Akane responded candidly. She gave him this look, as if accepting him to believe that at straight value. Akane, however, wasn't normally the one to do the kind of training that was required for a martial artist to achieve a special technique like that. No, there had to be something more involved. Ranma was sure of it.

Akane was just about to walk into the building when Ranma uncharacteristically grabbed her hand. "Ya know what I mean. Ya never showed 'at kind of work to the art b'fore."

By the look on her face in that next moment, Ranma was sure he had said something wrong. She walked back up to him and slapped him hard, nearly jostling him out of balance. "I'm just as dedicated to the art as you are, for your information. I just happen to have less freedom to practice as you do." As she finished explaining she pouted, almost as if to say that she wanted to be an equal to him in his eyes.

Ranma relented. It was an impressive technique, after all. "'At technique was amazing." He didn't know what else to say. Mastering one new technique didn't mean that they were suddenly equals, but it did perk his interest. He wanted to find out if Akane had learned any other techniques during his absence and how much she had improved since then.

Fellow students passing by them, however, reminded him that that would have to wait for another time. He let out a dreadful sigh as looked back toward school that stood patiently in front of him, waiting to ensnare him in its insidious ploy to brainwash him into being a 'productive contributor to society'. For all it was worth, he glared at his faceless opposition, who was obliviously unaffected by said glare.

An unfamiliar face abruptly swooped down into his view, an older looking man hunched down as if he were a frog sitting atop a lily-pad waiting patiently for his next meal. A deep baritone voice escaped his lips as he greeted him. "Ranma, how ya doin' ole' buddy ole' pal."

"Uhh, I dun know who ya are, 'ave we met?" Even the man's face resembled that of a frog, which disturbed him. The man put a hand to his chin and scratched, as if deeply contemplating the question. This behavior only served to further befuddle Ranma, for how far would one need to think back to their first encounter if they freely greeted one another as if they'd been good friends at some point.

Another figure crept on the older fellow and batted him down with a fist to the head. "Ya don't need ta go around creepin' people out like that. It just ain't right." The newcomer was a large, built man of darker complexion. He had brown, gentle eyes and a friendly smile, revealing his flawless white teeth. A backpack was slung on his back, whose straps were firmly gripped by his big, strong hand. He looked to be a body builder, or something of that nature, in his mid thirties. "I hope he didn't bother ya too much Ranma, we're new students around here, foreigners from Britain."

"Nah, but how do ya both know my name?" he asked. He had trouble following along this conversation. These two men were very suspicious. They did not appear to be British, and they were most certainly too old to be students at a high school. One of them was an old man! Ranma was just about to voice his disbelief, but held his tongue just as he opened his mouth. Something in his gut told him not to confront them about it. His instinct told him that whoever these people were, they were dangerous.

The larger man gave a somewhat friendly and nonchalant smile. In contrast, his piercing eyes probed him with a seemingly insidious intent, all but confirming Ranma's gut feeling. They were hiding something. The man responded candidly, "It's hard not to with one's name who is well known as you are, the martial artist who precedes chaos wherever he goes. That kind of reputation has become something of a legend around here."

"Is 'at so?" Ranma said, somewhat at a loss for words. Intrigue was never his strong-suit, but he could spot it when someone was using it against him. Still, the man's explanation was sound, as nearly everyone knew him for one disaster or another. It was conceivable that this person was merely telling the truth. However, he doubted it.

When Ranma got nothing more than a cheeky smile from the older man, he decided to finally be direct, forgoing precaution. He wasn't getting anywhere with this, and his churning gut didn't do him any good if he couldn't resolve the situation at hand. Besides, he never really was good at being anything else besides being blunt. "Look, we gotta go ta class so unless ya wanna challenge me I'm gonna go."

The older man's smile grew even wider as he turned facing the school and said, "Some other time." He raised his hand as if to say farewell and disappeared into the building, the larger man following in suit without an exchange of words.

"That was unexpected." Akane said simply. The words didn't even describe it, but she said no more as she began her trek to their classroom. Ranma walked alongside her distractedly, unsure of what to make of that encounter.

"'Av ya seen 'em b'fore?" Ranma asked curiously as they entered the halls. Their presence was immediately noticed by the lingering students in the halls. Their attention was not unnoticed by either of them, and it gave off the most eerie vibe as they neared their classroom. More so when of students practically fled in fright. The whole ordeal made him shiver in trepidation.

"I've heard rumors about them, but I've never seen them before." Was Akane's rushed response. Ranma had a feeling she knew more, but no more was said on the matter, and he couldn't ask her about it anyway as they entered their classroom and seated themselves.

* * *

When it came time for them to leave school, they made a detour to their house only to exchange plans with their family and to pick up Ryoga. Their trip to the cat cafe was uneventful with the exception of her typical bickering with Shampoo over Ranma at the cafe's door. The cursed amazon just didn't know when to give up.

After the usual banter among the group, the amazon elder inquired about their presence, and so they delved into the chain of events leading them up to that point, forcing Ranma to relive those awful moments. Even now, Akane could sense how depressed he was, completely vulnerable to this new form of battle, with there being no defense. As they explained, they went into detail about Dr. Tofu's analysis.

After elder Cologne had some time to process the information, a small frown settled upon her face. She shook her head, almost irritably. She murmured something in Mandarin, but Akane couldn't quite catch what she said. Not that she'd be able to understand but the barest of translation, as she only knew about as much of the chinese language as Shampoo knew of hers.

The elder amazon wordlessly took Ranma by the wrist, causing said martial artist to become anxious. She stood there for a long moment, eyes transfixed on Ranma's hand. The moment had an awkward turn as time passed without explanation. Abruptly, The amazon swore vehemently. She made a one-eighty turn, and journeyed toward the back room housing all of her magical items. Quite some time passed as they waited for her search for whatever it was she was looking for. They heard her rearranging all of her items, several of which made a pronounced thud as they collided with the floor. Others merely scudded across the ground, creating an irritating chalky noise.

All the while Akane saw Ryoga standing to the right of her impatiently, glaring at everything and nothing, prompting Ranma, who was to the left of her, to frown. As Ryoga discovered his rival's somber attitude, his expression eased into an anxious smile. The whole exchange took no more than the span of time it took for Cologne search for whatever item she was looking for.

As she walked back up to them, she produced an ancient book, already opened to a page consisting of a translucent orb with a violet hue, presumably an item of interest. "This is the Magni crystal. Made of pure energy, this magical object is designed to disrupt the chi in the short term and redesign one's chi network in long term."

"Wha?" Ranma said, befuddled. Both Ryoga and she were just as confused as he was.

Cologne laughed almost cynically. "Of course one of the greatest martial artists of the new generation would be able to pull off chi attacks without understanding their core mechanics(1). Each person has a unique chi network in which corresponds to their being. This network is what allows one to transfer his or her energy to each part of their body required for an individual task, be it everyday or otherwise. A person could not function without this network."

"Dunno how dis is da answer to our problem." Ryoga said skeptically.

The amazon remained expressionless as she responded, "It's not. But it'll buy us time. After your explanation, I studied son-in-law's chi network. he is currently experiencing a dual chi network, one resembling his own, while the other is a mystery. I presume that this your alter-ego, if you will, son-in-law." She offered Ranma a brief smile before continuing, "The chi networks are quickly merging, so we must act fast. The Magni crystal will buy us sometime while we work for a more permanent solution."

This whole ordeal with the Magni crystal left Akane with an uneasy. Something in her gut was telling her that she wasn't going to like where this was heading. Her voice was caught in her throat as she opened her mouth to voice this concern, her apprehension so tense she was stricken speechless.

Cologne said without noting Akane's change in demeanor, "Before we endeavor in this object's retrieval, there is something you must know. It was several hundred years ago that this object was forged to aid in a great shinobi war. It was designed as a preventative to successful attacks to one's chi network. Because of their haste to develop this magic stone, the Laotian shinobi never perfected its magic. It was never meant for long term use. In the final years of the war, its use proved fatal for over 90% of the reported users. There were even reports of shinobi dying within hours of their first use."

Akane finally found her voice as she stared the amazon elder down, almost adversarial. This whole plan was reckless and stupid. "If it's so harmful to use this object, then why are we even considering it?" She scoffed as realization dawned on her. "Why this? You have a whole arsenal of magic objects, yet this is the one you chose to present us. You're just as baffled at this as we are."

The expression on the elder's face grew dark. She batted her across the head with her cane she produced from seemingly nowhere. She nursed her cranium in her hand as she wondered how the amazon became intimately acquainted with the Tendo secret Mallet-sama technique(2). She was aware of the acute frustration this notion produced, but she didn't bother concealing it.

"You shouldn't take that tone with me just because its the truth. In all my three hundred years of my search of knowledge in magic and in the arts, I have never come across anything like this. This case is the first of its kind."

"Lucky me." Ranma mumbled. He seemed depressed but otherwise calm. It was almost as if he put up a barrier between him and everyone else. This she worried more than anything else they've discussed all evening, that the pig-tailed boy would shut everyone out, including her.

She put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to ease some of the burden he was bearing and her own uneasiness over this whole situation. This action fell short of Ranma's notice as he stared blankly at the ground.

"Is der nothin else we can do?" Ryoga interjected, his earlier annoyance gone, now replaced with a rare, but genuine concern for his long-time rival.

Cologne shook her head morbidly as she explained, "I simply don't know what we're dealing with here. I have no idea how long it'll take me to come up with a cure, and as it is, son-in-law doesn't have much time."

"How long do I got?" Ranma asked, shaken up.

"No more than a week," the amazon surmised, "and it could take that long to find the blasted thing. You must depart immediately."

* * *

The night was illuminated brilliantly by the twinkling stars above. The mesmerizing sight had her undivided attention as she lain on the roof of the Tendo household; it served as an escape from the abnormally constant chaos she endeared.

After having gone through another untimely transformation, Ranma didn't waste a moments hesitation to get away and avoid the object of all her inner turmoil these days. She scoffed as she thought faintly how everyone else seemed to believe that the thing most responsible for her strife was her other personality. In reality, it didn't bother her all that much, not nearly as much as it should. If it was only that, then she would have protested to the idea of doing anything at all about it. What really bothered her was the way she acted towards a certain pig-headed boy because of it, and the way he reacted in return.

The possibility that he might snap and kill her one day struck a chord in her. Even a scarier notion was that that was her main motivation for fighting her split personality was for her Master's sake, not her own. The thought caused her to shudder. If she was alright with the prospect of forever being changed after only four(3) days, how would her psyche react to the world around her after another week? Clenching her eyes shut, she willed the morbid idea out of her head.

There was sudden shuffling beside her as someone plopped down next to her. She opened one eye to take a good look at her new companion. As soon as she caught a glimpse of Ryoga's silhouette, she shut her eyes once more and ground her teeth, quenching her emotions that threatened to bubble to the surface. She lain tensely there on the roof, under the glowing moonlight, as still as she could. It was all she could do to stop herself from jumping the raven haired boy next to her.

"My presence has 'at much of 'n affect on ya, does it?" His voice breaking the eerie silence. She could only bite her lips in response, afraid to say something out of turn. "I know I may not show it, but I'm just as scared by all of this as you are."

"'At's surprising ta hear from ya." She choked out, startled by her low growl that accompanied her reply.

"Ranma...Are you crying?" Ryoga asked suddenly, sounding dumbfounded. Her hand found itself upon her cheek, feeling the salty liquid gliding down them. When had she begun to cry? Instead of saying anything, afraid to shred whatever dignity she had remaining, she only dignified the question with a glare. A pained sigh followed. "Right, wit' all we been through these past few days, it'd be disturbin' if yur weren't 'ffected."

A terrible silence followed. Minutes crawled to an hour, but neither of them broke the silence that encapsulated them. Finally, after what seemed like forever, when she heard Ryoga getting up to reenter their abode, she quickly stammered out a question that had been eating her the entire evening. "Ryo!...if...if we can't fix dis...if I end up bein' like dis' fer da rest of my life...Will...will you take care of me?"(4)

Ryoga came to a dead stop. Turning around, her gave a look of utter shock. It took all of the span of three breaths for his shock to be replaced with look of mixed emotion. He turned away from her. "Idiot," he murmured before hopping off the roof, leaving her to contemplate his reaction.

She held herself close, feeling her face flushing with embarrassment. What a stupid thing to say! What had compelled her to ask such a ridiculous thing to say? Her, Ryoga Saotome, men among men? Except that she didn't feel like one, hadn't truly for a while. These past few days have felt like decades of inner turmoil. She was all turned around, and couldn't make up from down, or down from up. She couldn't help but play the images of their interactions through her head. What emotions had he experienced as he heard her stupid question? Was it fear? doubt? concern? or was it something else entirely? She couldn't stop herself as her mind jumped to most forbidden thoughts as she lain there, on the roof, for the rest of the evening.

* * *

The silence was killing him as he padded down a bare corridor. A frown settled upon his face as he continued down upon his path in utter blackness, hearing only his proud footsteps stamp across the ground. As he walked, devoid of almost all external stimuli, his mind wandered to his whereabouts. What did this hideout look like? Where was he? Undoubtedly, he'd ask himself these questions and more every time he made this trip, but never once has he answered any of these questions in the dozen or so times he's been summoned to this place.

He still only barely understood why he was even summoned to this place every time. The only answers he's managed to get so far from these visits were that he'd sometimes find himself awake in one of the nearby chambers only after going to sleep in his home. He also knew that at the end of this long corridor, he'd find a strange woman who'd give him some task that would inevitably bring him closer to his goal of becoming the king of his homeland; at the same time, her own goals would come into fruition. It was unclear what her objectives were, though.

At the end of the long hallway, he came upon an open area. At least it was more open than the corridor had been, though by what measure he could not define. The only acknowledgement he received was the lapse of the sensation of being closed in by the walls around him. It was here that he'd meet the strange woman.

As he had so many times before, he sensed her presence. He slipped on his well known facade. "I see you still haven't paid the electric bill," he said cheerily. His statement was so cheesy, but he couldn't waste an opportunity to make light of the situation. He gave his companion a cheeky grin despite everyone's inability to detect his cheery disposition.

"The time to set in motion the wheels of our plan nears. The culmination of our careful planning will soon come to fruition. Can I rest assured that you will complete the next task?"

The grin on his face slipped into a serious and stern expression. "I will do anything as long as I can be granted the power to protect my people." He said. In the moments to come, he would be briefed on his next mission, and then the real fun would begin.(5)

* * *

Wow I took my sweet time making this latest update. Sorry about that folks. Life took me by the ear and dragged me into next Tuesday, so to speak. Wow, I'm not doing that to you all again. I'm going to put an alert calendar to remind me to get out at least one chapter every week on this story. I think I will make it on Fridays or Saturdays. I do have quite a bit of time to myself this semester, as I only have three classes, no jobs, and only class 3 days of the week.

Notes:

(1) I think Ranma actually understands how chi attacks work in the anime and manga, but I'm taking the liberty as an author to explain it for the benefit of another subplot of mine, that mainly being the chi networks. I didn't it'd make sense as to why they would want reroute Ranma's chi network without explaining what it was in the story. Not to mention it'd probably be completely off the wall and sound like a copout otherwise.

(2) I'm a fan of giving Akane a more viable role in martial arts, and it only stands to make her mallet into a technique. By the way, a little pop quiz. I am giving credit of its name to another fanfiction who came up with its name (at least I think it did). Can anyone name the fanfiction I am crediting?

(3) Four is an arbitrary number of days. I don't know how long exactly it'd take for Ranma & Ryoga to go from Africa in the middle of a desert to Nerima, then to the appointment with Dr. Tofu and then finally to the Nekohanten. In this arbitrary assignment, I gave the trip from Africa to Nerima 2 days, the appointment another, and school and Nekohanten as the fourth day. It could be a longer time period, but it doesn't have much meaning to me.

(4) This question may be completely against Ranma's character, but then again so is much of what Ranma has done in this fanfic has been out of character, and for pretty understanding reasons. That being said, this is my take on how Ranma would react to something he couldn't "beat" or fight (something that's not corporeal, or is an idea). As he's coming to grip with what's happening to him, he's looking toward the future here. If he can't beat this thing, then he faces the chance of being totally dependent on Ryoga. I believe this scene is an interesting contrast to the ending scene in the previous chapter, where Ranma breaks down, as he couldn't handle the concept of becoming this stranger who was infatuated with being Ryoga's slave.

(5) This scene, and the interactions between Ranma and the strangers at the school came to exist because of my decision to merge an idea that I had for another fanfic into this story. My reasoning behind the merging ideas was to give one story a dynamic, multilayer-ed plot versus multiple stories with singular plots. Here's another quiz question, though I think it's harder to answer than the first question. I am basing both characters in this scene off of characters in other media. The male is based off of a character in a famous anime whose goals are similar to his. The woman is based off of a character in one of my favorite book series. Can you determine the characters they're based upon?

If there's anything else you think I should add, or if you notice any mistakes I've made in this chapter, feel free to let me know.


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